Nesting

(Paperback)

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Description

From an unforgettable new voice in Irish fiction, a heart-pounding, life-affirming story about one woman trying to leave her marriage and start over. For fans of Claire Keegan and Louise Kennedy.

On a bright spring afternoon in Dublin, Ciara makes a split-second decision that will change everything. Grabbing an armful of clothes from the washing line, Ciara straps her two young daughters into her car and drives away. Head spinning, all she knows for certain is that home is no longer safe.

It was meant to be an escape. But with dwindling savings, no job, and her family across the sea, Ciara finds herself adrift, facing a broken housing system and the voice of her own demons. As summer passes and winter closes in, she must navigate raising her children in a hotel room, searching for a new home and dealing with her husband Ryans relentless campaign to get her to come back. Because leaving is one thing, but staying away is another.

What will it take for Ciara to reinvent her life Can she ever truly break away from Ryans control and what will be the cost

Tense, beautiful and gut-wrenching, Nesting is an unforgettable story of motherhood, underpinned by love, hope and resilience.

Reviews

Paced like a thriller, Nesting is a deep, beautiful, hopeful meditation on trauma, healing and love. -- Jessica Stanley, author ofA Great Hope
What an extraordinary debut! I clutched this book tightly as I read, and rooted for Ciara from page one.Nestingis an unputdownable story of love, courage, and survival. I look forward to whatever comes next for Roisn ODonnell. -- Mary Beth Keane, author ofAsk Again, Yes
'Nestingis a triumph in empathy. This novel isachingly beautiful and utterly necessary. ODonnells attentiveness to language shines from every page.A book to open eyes and hearts. ODonnell imbues her characters circumscribed domestic space with apage-turning emotional urgency. -- Danielle McLaughlin, author ofThe Art of Falling
'Nesting is a powerful novel. Urgent, and hugely satisfying.' -- Roddy Doyle, author of The Women Behind the Door
'A gorgeous, maddening, thrilling and compassionate book. Roisn ODonnell so expertly captures the dull thud of dread and the frailty of hope. Nesting shows us that the quietest voice in the room can also be the most powerful.' -- Sheila Armstrong, author of Falling Animals
'Such a beautiful and real portrayal of contemporary Dublin.' -- Ana Kinsella, author of Look Here
'Roisn ODonnell tackles the unsettling cruelties and manipulations of coercive control with insight and emotional complexity. The voice is authentic, vivid and important. The final dedication to anyone trapped in a place that does not feel like home says everything. Emotionally charged, psychologically nuanced and full of compassion and possibility, I read with my heart in my mouth.' -- Una Mannion, author of Tell Me What I Am
'Such a moving, heartfilled, urgent book.' -- Jan Carson, author of The Raptures
'A dazzling debut, pin-sharp in its depiction of the insidious hooks of behind-closed-doors coercive control. ODonnell handles her heroines pain and potential power with nuanced, page-turning aplomb. I was gripped to the end.' -- Cristn Leach, author of Negative Space
'Nestingis a perfect portrayal of the insidious nature of intimatepartner abuse where thebruises are not physical, but violently emotional. I fell in love withthe voice of Ciara as she sets out to create a new life againstall oddsfor herself and her children. A story of bravery, love, and redemption, chock full of emotional suspense I couldnt look away. A high-wire act of a debut.' -- Chelsea Bieker, author of Madwoman

Author Bio

Roisn O'Donnell is an award-winning writer. In 2018, Roisn won the prize for Short Story of the Year at the An Post Irish Book Awards, and was shortlisted for the same prize again in 2022. She is the author of the story collection Wild Quiet, which was longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize and shortlisted for the Kate OBrien Award. Her short fiction has featured in numerous publications, including The Stinging Fly, The Tangerine and the Irish Times. Nesting is her debut novel. She lives near Dublin with her two children.